B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 17,106 Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. $FCX

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its Freeport-McMoRan stake by 11.9%, selling 17,106 shares and retaining 126,285 shares valued at approximately $7.94 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.77% of FCX.
• Freeport-McMoRan reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, beating estimates of $0.62, while revenue reached $7.03 billion versus the $6.62 billion consensus. Revenue declined 7.3% year over year.
• FCX shares opened at $71.18, near their 52-week high of $72.28. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $70.27, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG decreased its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,285 shares of the natural resource company's stock after selling 17,106 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Freeport-McMoRan were worth $7,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FCX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 7.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,011 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Steph & Co. grew its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 43.7% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 493 shares of the natural resource company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 11.6% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,539 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Essex Bank raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 1.2% in the first quarter. Essex Bank now owns 14,104 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 2.6% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the natural resource company's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company's stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Price Performance

NYSE FCX opened at $71.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $64.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.33. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.15 and a 1 year high of $72.28. The company has a market cap of $102.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.37.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The natural resource company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.12. Freeport-McMoRan had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 11.39%.The business had revenue of $7.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Freeport-McMoRan Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Freeport-McMoRan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Stephen T. Higgins sold 14,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $992,251.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,795,951. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 4,773 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $334,110.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 36,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,520,000. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,012. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.27.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FCX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source